Hunted
by SaltyJak
Summary: Continuation of the dream sequence from chapter five of Summer of Discontent, mainly from Tootie's point of view. With her home and parents gone, Tootie searches for her friend amid the ruins of Dimmsdale while being hunted by Vicky's soldiers and something far darker.
1. Chapter 1

"I can't believe this! How could she?! Where am I even supposed to go? Our house is gone, our _town _is gone! There's nothing left..." Tootie surveyed her surroundings, the city continued to burn around her, the smoke nearly blocked her view of the airship in the distance. Vicky always had a flair for the dramatic, but that thing was ridiculous, a huge aircraft carrier looking thing that flew? Sounded like something out of a comic book. "Probably where she got the idea..."

Tootie heard heavy footsteps from a few houses down. "Damn, they've found me already? They're really stepping up their game..." she broke into a run toward a house that was less destroyed and lifted up the scorched couch in it, revealing a hatch. She turned the valve and lifted it up, then climbed down the ladder and shut the hatch behind her.

After reaching the bottom of the ladder, she turned on her flashlight, and looked around the bunker she had cobbled together out of someone's basement. There were several weapons she had scavenged from Vicky's private soldiers, foodstuffs she had found, and a pink hat, Timmy's hat. She grabbed the hat and clutched it to her chest, she had taken it from the body of one of the soldiers, she hadn't been the one to kill him, it was _them_, whatever they were, they weren't human, not anymore. They tore at whoever they found, ripped them to shreds, when they were finished with you, you were lucky if you were anything more than a bloody smear on the ground, they even took the bones, though for what purpose, she didn't know. "Timmy... please be okay..." she hoped he was holding out somewhere, she hadn't yet gotten to his house, it was usually surrounded by guards, but she had never seen them take him or anyone out of the house. And _they_ were always driven off by the soldiers.

She didn't know what _they _were, likely something her sister had done to people, some infection... or sickness... she didn't know, they had started appearing a week after Vicky began to burn the city to the ground. Any survivors that encountered them didn't last long, most were torn apart... they were lucky, some were dragged away kicking and screaming, she didn't know if these... _things_ had a lair, but those who were taken weren't seen again. But after they took people, there were always more of _them_ during the next attack, so it seemed pretty obvious what they were doing.

Tootie surmised that it must be an infection of some kind, that must be how they were making more of themselves, that, or they used people as breeding stock... she shuddered at the thought. "Here's hoping it's the former..."

_They _were disgusting, a horrible mockery of what they once were, creatures covered in scales, reptile-like, but so much worse. Their skin was a greenish-black color, they had razor sharp claws, they always crouched, like their spines had adapted to a crouching posture, when they communicated, it was through clicks and grunts. They had massive eyes, but they were black as black could be, there was nothing in the eyes, no emotion, no mercy, _nothing_. It was why she didn't want to believe they had been human, she hoped they were just some kind of mutated animal, until she killed one. Maybe it had just been her mind playing tricks on her as she descended into insanity, but when she filled it's chest with bullets and it fell over, she heard it gurgle out "Thank you..." the shock hit her like a truck, this _thing_ had been human once, and this one at least suffered, realized what it had become, and welcomed death. She had stayed in her bunker for days after that, tried to cope with what she had done. Then she did it again, and again. And realized people were wrong, it _did _become easier each time, still, she didn't go looking for a fight, where there was one, there were always more.

"This won't last... I only have enough food for a few more days..." the soldiers were getting closer to her hidey-hole, she knew that if they caught her they would kill her... or worse. "Urgh... where else can I go? They'll find me eventually... either the soldiers... or those _things_... I can't believe things got this bad so quickly..." Vicky had left a few years back, without a word. She returned on her twenty-fourth birthday, in that airship, and immediately destroyed Brightburg, left it a smoldering crater. The authorities, the government, the army... no one could stop her, it was like she was protected by magic or something... They had even tried nuclear missiles, every single one had been a dud, no way that was a coincidence. Everyone that tried to stop her was destroyed, anything they sent at her, she sent back tenfold, eventually they gave up, went into their little bunkers, or just left the vicinity, she didn't leave Dimmsdale's airspace, she was searching for something, or someone, evidently.

Tootie was eighteen now, 'old enough to know better', as her sister once said. She had cut her hair short, it was only a hindrance to have long hair now, she broke her glasses while running away from those creatures once, she had found a box of contacts, but they would only last her so long. The skirts were traded in for thick jeans, to avoid cutting her legs in debris, and her girlier shirts were swapped for darker colors, so as not to draw attention. She and Timmy had dated for awhile after Vicky left, but they broke it off after only a year, she was the one who did it too, saying that something about them being together didn't feel right anymore. They had stayed friends though, and that was why she searched for him now, but to no avail.

She heard frantic stomping from above her and shut off her light, a few seconds later she heard gunfire and cursing, followed by a skittering sound, she was silent for several minutes, barely even breathing, until she felt it was safe. "I'll have to leave sooner than I thought. They're getting too close..." she eyed a handgun near her hand and picked it up looking over it carefully. "Maybe... maybe I should just end it... better than living in a world like this, where my own sister wants to kill me, and my best friend and parents are dead..." she put the gun to the side of her head, and felt the cool metal on her skin. She was shaking hard now, the thought of ending it had come before, but she had never taken it this far. She wrapped a finger around the trigger and began to squeeze it, as she did, she began breathing harder and harder, until she let out a scream and pulled the trigger.


	2. Chapter 2

"Twerp!"

"Seriously, just once, call me Timmy, I don't think it's a lot to ask..."

"Not in front of the riff-raff." she gestured to the various soldiers around the ship's control room.

"Hmph... what do you need?"

"One of the scouts saw Tootie."

"Wha?! She's still alive?! I thought she was dead! When I didn't see her on the ship..."

"I offered to let her on, just like you. She refused, obviously."

"We can't just leave her out there! We have to-"

"Quiet!" her voice echoed through the chamber, causing all her soldiers to cower in fear. She looked at Timmy apologetically and whispered to him now. "Sorry, I have to keep up appearances with these idiots. I know we can't leave her out there, it isn't about what she wants now, we have to bring her here, it's the only safe place, I don't care what she wants."

"Okay so?"

"That's why I called you, you're the only one I can trust with this, these morons would just screw up and get killed, and possibly get her killed."

"You want me to go out there? I don't have any special training..."

"You played video games! You'll be fine! I'll send my two best guys with you. Wolfe! Jenkins! Get your shit in gear!"

"Yes ma'am!" the two soldiers stood in front of Vicky and saluted.

Wolfe was a fairly well built looking soldier, though he didn't seem to care all that much about anything, to be honest. Jenkins... wasn't much to look at, he was scrawnier than Timmy was at ten, nevermind now.

Timmy looked at Wolfe, then Jenkins. "Jenkins? Your first name wouldn't happen to be Leeroy, would it?"

"Yes sir! Very good guess sir! Leeroy Jenkins, reporting for duty!"

"Thought so. Would you excuse me for a second?" he walked over to Vicky and put his arm around her before pulling her aside. "He's gonna get fucking killed."

"Why do you say that? I told you, he's one of my best!"

"Your best is an idiot! Look at him! He couldn't fight off a small dog! Nevermind whatever those things out there are!"

"Well if he does die, that's one less mouth to feed."

"Fine. I'll get suited up and find Tootie, she is my friend after all."

"Great! Thank you, really! I'll reward you when you get back..."

Timmy knew that sultry tone. "You don't have to bribe me with sex..."

"Maybe I want to bribe you with sex, I stand to gain something here too, after all."

"Alright, where's the armory?"

"Oh! This way, follow me sir!" Jenkins quickly sped off in the direction of the armory.

Timmy stood next to Wolfe and glanced at him. "He's gonna get killed, isn't he?"

Wolfe looked at him and took out a cigarette and lit it, then took out another and offered it to him, which Timmy politely refused. "Suit yourself, yeah, I don't expect him to come back, what about you?"

"I doubt he'll survive long..."

"No, I meant you. You think you'll make it back?"

"Nothing's gonna stop me from saving Tootie and coming back here."

"So as long as we watch out for nothings, we should be fine."

"Heh, let's hope so."

_Back in the ruined city..._

CLICK

Tootie knelt on the floor in shock, her eyes squeezed shut, still breathing heavily. "Figures I'd forget to reload the damn thing, now I _have_ to leave, someone or something will have heard that scream..." she gathered up her dufflebag and filled it with food and guns and ammo, then looked at the pink hat. "Hmph..." she put it on her head.

She opened the hatch and looked around. "Coast is clear... for now." she climbed out of the hole and didn't bother shutting it. "Guess I'll try Timmy's house again." If the soldiers were still there, well, that's what the guns were for.

She made her way through the rubble and broken houses, stopping a few times for supplies and to hide from the creatures, they were stirred up for some reason. "Probably these idiot soldiers... they always make too much noise..."

Upon arriving at Timmy's house, she was surprised to find it mostly undamaged, she thought Vicky had been destroying things indiscriminately and had simply missed the house. "I wonder if he..." hope began to grow within her, maybe he was still here after all? She broke into a run towards the house, not caring who or what heard her, and burst through the door, then moved the couch in the living room in front of the door. She expected to hear banging or growling, but it never came. "Guess I'm safe in here for now... Timmy?" she whispered to avoid drawing more attention. "Timmy? Are you in here?" she went upstairs toward where she remembered his room being and stopped at the first door. "This one?" she opened the door to find a bathroom, she went in and grabbed what she could salvage from the medicine cabinet. "Painkillers, bandages, alcohol... better than nothing. Door number two?" she opened the next door and was hit with an overwhelming scent of death. "Christ!" she held her nose and walked in to find the bodies of Timmy's parents, both had gunshot wounds in their heads, Timmy's father still held the gun. "Guess they... opted out..." Tootie walked over and grabbed the gun from his hand. "I think I'll get more use out of this than you will..." she left the room and shut the door behind her.

"Last door." she opened the door to find the room was still the same as she remembered it, same bed, same dresser, same end table, but the fishbowl that sat on it was knocked over, it had shattered on the floor, the sand and castle lying amid broken glass. "Guess the fish died... not surprising, goldfish aren't exactly long lived..." she moved over to the bed and looked under it. "I wonder if..." she felt around and grabbed what she was looking for, a dusty pair of glasses that she had lost when she had come over once, Timmy promised her he'd find them, but it seemed he didn't think to look under his bed. She put the glasses in her dufflebag where they wouldn't break. "Timmy... where are you?"

_Elsewhere in the ruined city..._

"Damn, damn, damn, damn! How are we even supposed to find her?! Those idiots didn't even remember where they saw her! What are we supposed to do?! Search the whole city?!"

"Calm down kid, we'll look in the most likely places she'd be. We'll find her."

"LEEROY!" Jenkins had picked up the odd habit of kicking in any closed door he found a shouting 'Leeroy' as he did so.

"Jenkins! Would you stop doing that?! Last thing we need is to attract those damn things to us! We're alone out here, no other soldiers! You heard what the commander said, we're scorching Dimmsdale in a few hours, and I don't plan on being here any longer than is necessary!"

"Aw c'mon Wolfe! We haven't seen hide nor hair of those freaks! Loosen up! I'm sure we can take any we encounter!"

"Shut up!" Timmy looked around, trying to discern where the sound he heard had come from.

"What's up captain?"

"I heard a scream... and stop calling me captain! I'm not your captain, just an idiot in a shitty situation..."

"A scream?! That has to be the target! Which way?!"

"Uh... from that way, I think..." Timmy pointed toward a burned out house several hundred meters away.

"Right then! JENKINS!" the soldier went running in the opposite direction that Timmy pointed.

"Goddammit Jenkins! You're gonna get us all killed!" Wolfe shouted to the other soldier, but he had already run off. "Kid? Can we just leave him?"

"I'm not leaving anybody behind."

"People like that only slow you down."

"Maybe, but we can't leave him behind."

"There's gonna be a time when you may not have a choice..."

"Would you leave me behind if it meant saving yourself?"

"Damn right I would. I don't know you, and I don't want to be out here, I'm only following orders, and the commander didn't tell me to sacrifice myself for you, we get in a shitty situation and I see a way out? I'm gone."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The two went in the direction Jenkins had gone, listening for the telltale 'Leeroy!' that they had become a little too familiar with.

Jenkins kicked in another door and headed inside. "Leeroy Jenkins! Is here to save you! Miss Tootie?" he looked around the room he was in and saw a cracked picture frame, the top of the picture was burned, obscuring the faces above the one he recognized, it was the commander, Vicky, she was scowling and looking away from the camera, next to her stood a little black haired girl, she was smiling and had her arms wrapped around Vicky. "Huh... captain?"

Timmy entered the house, followed by Wolfe. "I told you, I'm not your frickin' captain! What did you find?"

"Just this picture..." he handed the warped picture frame to Timmy.

"Hm?" Timmy looked at the frame and pulled it apart, being careful not to harm the picture inside, when he finally freed it from the frame, he tossed the frame aside and looked at the picture, rubbing the ashes away from the faces of the two most important women left in his life. "Thanks..." He stuck the picture in his pocket.

"Of course capta- sir."

"It seems in your bumbling, you found the commander's old house. Nice job, Jenkins."

"Thank you Wolfe! It was my pleasure!"

Wolfe facepalmed.

Timmy walked around the house, hoping to find something to indicate Tootie had been there recently. The house was in poor shape, there were holes in the floor and ceiling, and burn marks from where embers had fallen. He ascended the stairs, leaving Wolfe and Jenkins to argue, and opened the first door he saw, the room beyond was completely empty, nothing but bare floor. "Vicky's room..." he left the room and walked to the next door, it was slightly ajar, there were handprints on it, bloody handprints. "No..." he wrapped his fingers around the doorknob and slowly pulled the door open. The room was covered in blood, it had obviously been the site of a massacre. He walked around the room, looking for any evidence that might tell him who was killed here. He found one of the creatures on the other side of the bed, it had been shot twice in the head, rupturing one of it's massive black eyes. He found the gun not far away, still clutched in the owner's hand. "Where's the rest of the owner?" The hand was male, that, or a very hairy woman's hand.

"Hey kid, you find anything-" Wolfe entered and looked around. "Jesus..."

"What is it?" Jenkins burst through the door and looked around, then immediately vomited.

"Good thing you don't wear a helmet, jackass." Wolfe continued smoking his cigarette, not as perturbed as Timmy expected him to be.

"Tootie isn't here..."

"You... you sure captain?"

"No, I'm not. There isn't enough left to identify who these people are, though I assume they are Vicky's parents."

"Shit... you gonna tell her?"

"I'm gonna have to. Though I doubt she'll care, they always hated her..."

"What?"

"I've already said too much, let's go. We need to investigate that scream, and stay close, those things likely aren't far..."

"Yes sir!"

_Timmy's house..._

"Well, at least nobody looted the booze..." Tootie held a glass bottle of amber liquid, occasionally taking a sip from it, she did her best to ignore the burn she felt from it. "Wonder what mom and dad are doing in Heaven..." she looked at the gun she took with her again. "Suppose I could always join them..." she grabbed the gun and removed the clip. "Except I haven't reloaded it yet..." she began laughing at herself, though nothing in particular was funny.

"LEEROY!"

"The fuck?" the soldiers never gave away their positions like that, though it did sound far off... and the mutants didn't speak. "Either I'm hallucinating... or some idiot's out there looking to get killed..." Tootie began pushing more furniture against the windows and doors. "Nobody is getting in here... I'm not sharing my tomb..."

"Jenkins! Shut the hell up!" that voice sounded gruffer, definitely a soldier.

"How about you both shut up and help me find Tootie?!"

"What?" the voice caused Tootie to briefly sober up. She recognized it, it was definitely Timmy. "Timmy?" she looked at the bottle in her hand. "No... just my mind playing tricks again..." she took another swig from the bottle. "Timmy's gone... soon, I'll be gone too..." she looked at the gun again.

_Back outside..._

"Captain! I found something!" Jenkins stood next to a burned couch, next to that was a slightly ajar hatch in the ground.

"Good work." Timmy stood next to Jenkins, looking down at the hatch, then slapped him in the back of the head. "Keep it down!"

"Right, sorry captain."

Timmy lifted the door. "Tootie? You down there?" No answer. "We gotta go down there, she might be inside, this is right around where the cream came from, I suggest-"

"JENKINS!" he jumped into the hole, not bothering to use the ladder. "Oof!"

"You alright?"

"Yeah! I'm good captain! You might wanna use the ladder, it's kind of a big drop."

"Is it clear?" Wolfe stood next to Timmy and flicked some cigarette ash into the hole.

"Oh! Right, yep... It looks like someone was here recently, but I think they left in a hurry."

Timmy climbed down the ladder. "Wolfe stay here and cover us."

"Whatever."

Timmy looked around the small space and his eyes fell on Jenkins, who proceeded to wave at him enthusiastically, from two feet away. "Anything to report?"

"Uh... I found these." he handed Timmy a pair of broken glasses.

"These... these are hers!"

"Really captain?!"

"Definitely! Nice job Jenkins!"

Jenkins' eyes began to water.

"Jenkins? You alright?"

"It just... means so much to me for you to say that! Thank you captain!" he jumped forward to hug Timmy, but was stopped when Timmy brought a pistol up under his chin.

"No hugging."

"Right... sorry captain, I got carried away there..."

"As you were." Timmy looked at the remaining weapons in the small bunker, most had been stripped for parts, some were just broken, but none worked. The bunker contained a small cot, and a table, likely used for meals and weapon repair. Hm... if we factor in that there's no blood, and we heard the scream a little while ago... we must've just missed her. Alright, there's still time, c'mon."

They climbed back up the ladder to find Wolfe lounging on the couch. "Find anything?"

"We just missed her... but there's one more place I wanna check."

"Well alright, let's head out." he stood and dropped his cigarette, then stomped it out.

"Yeahah! Hoo-rah!" again Jenkins was too loud, and this time, he would pay for it.

The things they had avoided for so long suddenly sprang up from under the rubble and out of the sewers. There were at least a dozen of them, and they were heading straight for the three. "Dammit, Jenkins! I told you! I told you this would happen!"

Jenkins rushed forward toward the horde of reptilian freaks. _"Finally! The moment I've been waiting for! _"LEEROY-" he was interrupted as the creatures pounced on him, knocking him into the bunker hole.

Timmy heard the creatures growling and tearing at the soldier, then a distinct beeping sound. "Shit! Go! He armed his grenades!"

"That idiot!"

"Go toward that house!" Timmy pointed to a house a few hundred feet away, it was his own house.

Both began running toward the house and heard the blood-curdling sound once more: "JENKINS!" followed by a huge explosion. They stopped and looked back at where the bunker had been, now reduced to a smoldering crater.

"That dumb bastard..." Wolfe looked with genuine sorrow visible on his face.

"He saved us though..."

"No, he didn't..." more creatures began to emerge from the sewers and ruins around them.

"No rest for the wicked! Run!" Timmy grabbed Wolfe's shoulder and spun him around so he'd follow him.

Even more of the creatures began pouring out of the buildings they passed.

Timmy and Wolfe began running even faster in response, the house became closer and closer until they hit the front door, it didn't budge. "Shit!" Wolfe turned around and began firing at the approaching horde. "Better think of something quick, _Captain_!"

Timmy looked around the outside of the house, most of the windows were boarded up, but the living room window hadn't, he looked in and thought he saw movement inside, though it could've just been the adrenaline addling his mind. He turned to look at the still approaching horde, Wolfe was making a valiant effort, but there were just too many. "This is gonna suck... Wolfe! C'mon!"

"Come where?!"

He was answered by Timmy throwing himself through the large picture window.

"Oh, you idiot!" he jumped in after him.

_A few minutes earlier..._

"Hmph... damn soldiers, thinking they'll have me?! Not likely! I'll shoot myself first!" she heard an explosion from outside, it sounded close, so it was likely more soldiers being stupid. Then she heard those _things_, the clicking and grunting had become horribly loud, she knew there must be a massive group nearby, likely roused by the explosion. She had begun pushing furniture, boards, and whatever else she could find against the doors and windows, all while still holding onto her new favorite drink. "I'll be the one who decides how I die! No one else!" she began pushing the last piece of furniture, a wardrobe, over to the large picture window when she heard a crash. She grabbed her gun from her belt and came out from behind the wardrobe, pointing it at the two soldiers before her. "Get out of my house!"

"Tootie?!" he recognized her voice immediately and his blue eyes met her violet ones.

"Timmy?!"

* * *

A/N: So here's chapter 2, the third and final is already done, it'll be up after some editing, so... probably tomorrow. Let me know what you guys think of this so far, I'm sure you all want me to continue my main stories, but I had to get this out of my head so I could focus on them, and for those waiting on that sequel to The Price You Pay, don't worry, It'll happen soon, I just need to figure out some things like which OCs to use, and where exactly I want the story to go. Feel free to suggest characters or OCs... though I can't put Wolfe in it, for obvious reasons.


	3. Chapter 3

"Damnit! You two can catch up later! Those things are gonna tear us to pieces!"

Timmy ran around the wardrobe and pushed it against the window, then wedged some boards between it and the stairs to keep it from being pushed over. "Tootie, do you have any weapons? Anything that can help us?"

Tootie wobbled a bit and pointed to her dufflebag with the hand that held the bottle of amber liquid. "Oh! That too!" he snatched the bottle out of her hand and stuffed some cloth in the opening. "...Wait, have you been drinking?"

"Maybe..." she spoke in a sing-song voice.

"Perfect. I'm gonna die with some random kid and his drunken friend!"

"Not now Wolfe! Tootie? I need you to focus, and listen to me, can you do that?"

Tootie stopped and put her finger under her chin in thought, then nodded excitedly in the affirmative.

"Alright... those freaks are outside, and they're trying to get in. We need a plan to deal with them. Is there anything you have that might help us?"

"Oh! Yeah, here!" she handed him a belt with a dozen grenades on it.

"Where did you-?"

Tootie shrugged at him, then brought her arms around him into a hug. "You finally came to save me... You're the best!" she repeatedly planted kisses on his cheek.

"Tootie! Not now!" _"If only Cosmo and Wanda were here..."_ he had opted to leave them on the ship, he had no idea why he even still had them, he was eighteen now, and had used their magic to essentially doom the world, or at least leave it at Vicky's mercy. It may have been to keep Vicky safe, but it was still fairly evil and selfish, so why hadn't Jorgen showed up to take them away? _"Argh! I don't have time to think about this!"_

"You two better come up with a plan! Those things are still coming!" he was doing his best to kill the creatures, but there didn't seem to be an end to them in sight. Then he noticed the bottle Timmy held. "Give me that!" he brought the cloth in the bottle up to his cigarette and it caught fire. He walked over to the window and moved the wood, then threw the bottle out into the horde of freaks. "Burn baby, burn."

"Sincerely inferno!" both Timmy and Wolfe looked at Tootie.

"Yeah..."

The bottle smashed onto the head of one of the creatures, bathing the central mass in flames, the ones on the outer edge scattered away into the ruins. The ones that had been closer were covered in the fire and had begun to run around in a panicked state, they seemed to be unusually flammable, those that had been near the center of the explosion were almost instantly burned to charred remains.

"Ugh... the smell!"

"Better to have a bad smell in your nose than be dead..."

"Urgh... be right back..." Tootie ran upstairs to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

"Guess she doesn't have a strong stomach..."

"Yeah... alright, that thinned the herd for now, they seem to be dispersing for now, but they'll be back, and there will be more. What are we gonna do?"

"What do you think, Wolfe? We're gonna get our asses out of this frying pan!"

"And into the fire! Those things are gonna rush us as soon as we open the door! Think about this kid! We need a plan or we're gonna be food!"

"You wanna lead?! Go ahead! I'm only eighteen! I don't know how to deal with these situations! I never even thought we'd find Tootie, I thought we would've found her _dead_, but not at my house!"

"Alright... why don't you... go check on her? She needs to know the plan when we make it..."

"Right." he went up the stairs and knocked on the bathroom door. "Tootie? Can I come in?" he heard the door unlock and opened it.

Tootie was kneeling in front of the toilet and looked up at Timmy. "Good thing I cut my hair, huh?"

He moved and sat down next to her. "Heh... yeah... How have you been?"

"Surviving... I'd ask how you've been but..." Tootie gestured to the armor he wore.

"Yeah... Vicky offered to let me on the ship, I didn't want to at first but... I did eventually, we're... together now."

"Good for you... so why are you here?"

"Why wouldn't I? You think I'd let you die out here?"

"What took you so long? Do you know what it's been like? I had to shoot my mother and father, to save them the pain of being torn to pieces... I barely got out myself! What took you so long?!"

"I didn't know!" Tootie jumped at his sudden outburst. "I didn't know... I only found out today... Vicky asked me to come and get you." he pulled her to his chest and hugged her.

"Hmph... that's a lie, she doesn't care about me."

"You can ask her yourself soon enough."

"No! I'm not going with you to her ship! I already told her I wouldn't." she tried to squirm out of his grip, and he tightened it in response.

"I'm not giving you the choice! You _are_ coming back with me, kicking and screaming if necessary, I won't let you throw your life away!" she continued struggling for several minutes before she stopped.

"Fine..."

"If you try to run, I'll shoot you in the leg myself."

"I won't..."

"Good, are you feeling better?"

"I'm feeling sick again..."

"You gonna throw up again?"

"No... I'll be fine."

Timmy helped her to her feet, she stumbled at first, but he caught her. "You sure?"

"Yeah..."

He looked down and noticed the pink hat at their feet, he picked it up and shook it off, then placed it back on her head. "You always did look cuter in my hat than I did..."

Tootie blushed at his comment. "You always know just what to say to make me blush like a lovestruck idiot..."

"You two okay up there?"

"Yeah, we're fine! Any sign of those things?"

"No, we're clear for now."

"I'm gonna check the other rooms for-"

"Wait! Don't go in your parents' room!"

"Why?"

"Because! They're..."

"Tootie, I already know." he moved the hair on the left side of his head to reveal a straight, two inch scar. "My dad... he tried to shoot me after he shot mom, guess he wanted us to die together as a family, he missed his mark."

"Oh Timmy... I'm so sorry..." she buried her head in his neck, and he put his hand on the back of her head.

"I know it's selfish, but I can't let you die, alright? I _can't_. I refuse to lose anyone else."

"But... Vicky caused this! How can you... How can you love her after that?! She burned Dimmsdale! She made these creatures! She killed everyone!"

"The creatures? Vicky didn't... Those things, she didn't make them... Vicky doesn't even know where they came from, they appeared after she destroyed Brightburg. You think she would do that? Make people into those things?"

"Shows how out of touch you all are in your fancy airship, everyone blames Vicky for those things... I think I'm the only one left now..."

"Were you the one who killed the soldiers?"

"No! Not... not all of them... Most fell to those things out there... I only killed them if I had no choice..."

"They were sent out to scout the ruins for survivors... and I think you as well. Vicky didn't trust them to bring you back unharmed, that's why she sent me, she knows I care about you, and I know she cares about you. No matter what she's done, all the bad things... she still loves you..."

"But... but... I almost..."

"What?"

"I couldn't take it anymore... My parents are gone, I thought Vicky wanted me dead... I thought _you_ were gone! I was gonna... I had the gun, in my hand... at my head... and I... I..." he could feel her breaking apart in his grip, the shaking, the tears, he had known her for so long, yet never saw her like this, she had cried in front of him before, but never broken down.

He pulled her even tighter into the embrace. "I'm glad you didn't do it..."

"I _did_ do it though... The only reason I'm still here is because I forgot to reload the damn thing..."

"It's okay now Tootie, I'm gonna get us out of here, I promise."

His words made her remember why she fell in love with him in the first place, that unshakeable determination, his willingness to protect those close to him...

He released her from his grip and put his hands on her shoulders, then looked into her eyes. "Alright, we need a plan, then we're going home, together."

Staring into his blue eyes, Tootie felt something in her chest, it wasn't love, she knew that, but it was something just as good, something she had given up for lost long ago, something that burned away the despair that had wrapped itself around her heart: Hope.

_Back on the Helicarrier..._

"Commander! We'll be ready to destroy the city in approximately five minutes!"

"You'll destroy it when I give the order!"

"But... Commander, we can't delay the firing sequence!"

"And why not?! Is it because it literally can't be delayed?!"

"Well... no, it's just that... it's against protocol..."

"Well today, we're ignoring protocol! Timmy and my sister are still down there and I won't leave them to die!"

"Commander... I didn't know you cared so strongly about-" the officer was interrupted by a knife thrown at his jugular, blood began to pour from the wound as he fell over, dead.

"Someone clean him up..." Vicky rubbed her forehead. "And find me a new targeting specialist! Preferably one who knows when to shut his trap!" she returned to looking out the window, she could barely see his house from where she was standing. "Knowing him, that's where he'd be..." she was aware of a light amount of pressure on her right shoulder, looking at it, she saw the two geckos he kept, normally they were in the small tank he had for them, but they must've been left out when he left to get Tootie. One was pink, the other green, both had a small circle of gold spines on their heads, forming a small crown-like growth, the green one looked off into the distance blankly, occasionally licking its own eyeball, the pink one looked worried, or as worried as a mostly expressionless reptile could look. _"__Or is it just my imagination?"_ She stuck her finger under the pink gecko's chin, causing it to lick her finger. "You're worried about him too, aren't you?" the gecko licked her finger again. "Damn it Timmy... Please come back safe, preferably with Tootie..."

"What was that ma'am?"

"Grr... Was I talking to you?!"

"N-no ma'am..."

"_Damn it all! I should've gone with him! I should've..."_ Vicky could feel a slight dampness at the corners of her eyes. _"Great... now I'm crying? Nobody said love was supposed to make you weak... Then again, nobody talked to me about love..."_

_Back at Timmy's house..._

"If you two kids are done making out, we got problems down here!"

"Shit! They're back already?!"

"What are we gonna do?!"

"Tootie, I already told you, I'm not letting anything happen to you. Here." he handed her an automatic rifle. "Know how to use that?"

She pointed it at him. "This is the dangerous end, right?"

He flicked the safety off. "It is now."

Wolfe stood in the living room looking out the window, the creatures were coming back, and there were far more now than before. He looked down at the rifle in his hands, a name was carved into the side of the gun: Heather. "I think this is our last rodeo Heather... Didn't expect to go down like this, protecting the commander's lover and her sister while she hides up in her fortress... I suppose it's what I deserve though, I've pushed others down so many times, sacrificed them so I might live... This might be my last chance... for redemption... if I even deserve it." his thoughts returned to the girl he left behind in the city, when he saved himself instead of her. He tried to drown out her cries for help, but each night he heard them again, growing louder with each cry: "Help me! Please! Don't leave me! Daddy! Daddy!" he was snapped out of his thoughts by the clicking outside. "There's no forgiveness for what I've done... Heather... I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry..."

"Wolfe! What are we gonna do?! We can't kill them all!"

"We don't need to, just enough to make a break for it. Call it in, tell them to be ready to pick us up in five."

Timmy did as Wolfe told him, Tootie walked over to stand in front of Wolfe. "What is it?"

"I wanted to thank you, for coming to help me, and for helping him." she pointed to Timmy.

"Hmph... I might've only delayed the inevitable..." he looked at Tootie's face and paused for several seconds.

"What? Is there... something on my face?" she moved her hand over her face, looking for anything she could feel.

"No... you remind me of... nevermind, it's not important."

Tootie looked out the window and her face was again filled with despair. "There- there's so many... how are we gonna get out of here...?"

"Hey! You're gonna get out of here! Hear me?! You will!"

Timmy looked over at Wolfe. _"What's got him so full of hope?" _He looked over at Tootie and tightened his grip on his side-arm. _"I won't let them get to her... even if..." _"Dammit! Someone answer!"

"Hello?"

_Back at the carrier..._

"Hello? Timmy sir?! You're alive-" the officer who answered the call was blown away by the wind of destruction that was Vicky.

"Timmy?! Are you okay?!" she didn't bother worrying about how she looked in front of her troops now.

"I'm fine... we're fine... it's good to hear your voice..."

"Likewise..." the tears came now, though only a few. "Is... is Tootie?"

"She's here... she's alive."

Relief washed over Vicky at hearing this. "So you're calling for pick up?"

"Yeah, we need it ASAP, those things have us surrounded at my house, we can't hold out for long..."

"I'll send someone down immediately."

"I'll see you soon..."

"Yeah..."

"Vicky?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

This brought Vicky pause, he hadn't said that to her yet, she figured he was too shy. "Don't you dare die out there. You come back with my sister..."

"Is that an order?" there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

"What do you think?"

"Yes ma'am!"

Vicky disconnected and looked around, hoping to find someone she could trust with this task. Except Vicky didn't trust anyone on the ship. "Shit..." she ran off by herself to the armory.

_Timmy's house..._

Another shot rang out, another creature fell, it's head split open like a melon. "Hah! Hey Wolfe, I think I'm beating you!"

"Not likely kid, that molotov took out a whole herd!"

"You can't count that! That was before the competition started!"

"I'm counting it, right now you're just ahead of Jenkins!"

"Bah! He only killed a dozen! I've easily killed more!"

"Heroic sacrifice gets you extra points! You wanna do something similar? That'll get you more points than me!"

"I ain't dying out here!"

"Would you two stop?! This isn't a competition! We're gonna die out here at this rate! And all you can think about is who killed more?!"

"Just trying to have some fun..."

"Being on the brink of death? News flash, it isn't fun!" she fired a shot and killed another creature. "How the fuck are we gonna get out of this?!"

"I have an idea... well, I've had one for the past twenty minutes actually..."

"What?!" both Timmy and Tootie yelled simultaneously.

"What? I thought we were enjoying the competition? We aren't?"

"If you have a plan that will keep us from getting eaten, now would be an awesome time to share!"

"Urgh... fine. Tootie, go turn on the gas in the kitchen."

"Okay..." she ran off toward the kitchen.

"What's the plan?"

"These things seem to hate fire, right? Well, if we make a big enough boom, we'll be able to scare them off long enough to escape, hopefully the rescue shuttle will be here by then."

"Well, I don't have any better ideas..."

Tootie came running back in. "Gas is on! What now?!"

"Kid! Call the commander! This is gonna be one hell of a boom!"

"Right!" he put the earpiece back in and called the ship.

"Hello?"

"I need status on that pick up!"

"Oh? Well... the commander just left... she isn't there yet?"

"She's coming personally?!"

"I assume so..."

"Argh... fine!" he turned off the earpiece. "I didn't want her to come! She could get hurt..."

"We could get hurt!"

"I'd rather have myself get hurt than her!"

"Pfft! Throwing your life away for the evil dictator of the world?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Maybe if you loved someone, you'd understand!"

"Don't think you know me kid! You don't know me!"

"Both of you! Enough!"

"Fine! We'll fight if we survive! Tootie! Gimme that grenade belt!"

Tootie handed Wolfe the belt.

"Anyone else smell gas?"

"Well yeah, I told Tootie to turn on the gas."

"Don't you think you should put out the cigarette?"

"Nope."

The clawing at the door and windows became louder, as did the clicking and grunting. "Wolfe, if you're gonna do something, now would be a good time!"

"Alright! When I give the signal, we make a break for the back door, they don't seem to be smart enough to try it! Go unblock it, now!" Timmy and Tootie ran for the back and Wolfe heard them dragging something heavy.

They ran back in. "Okay, now what?"

"Now... Go!" they turned and ran back for the door. As Wolfe stood, he heard the creatures pushing at the window that he and Timmy had jumped in through. He began to run as he heard creaking, but wasn't fast enough to escape the wardrobe falling on his legs. "Ah shit!" he tried lifting it up, only to realize it was far too heavy.

Timmy and Tootie rushed back to him. "Wolfe! Tootie! Help me move this!" even with all three pushing it, it wouldn't move.

"Damn..." Wolfe grabbed a grenade and threw it out the window, causing a large explosion, enough to drive back the creatures, if only for a fleeting moment. "You two... go!"

"I'm not leaving anyone behind!" Timmy continued trying to lift the wardrobe.

Wolfe grabbed Heather and pointed it(her?) at Timmy's face. "Go. Get her out of here... both of you... you have to live. I've made mistakes... I can't unmake them... but I can try to make things right. Now go!"

Tootie had tears in her eyes, but ran off for the door.

"Kid... here." he handed his rifle to Timmy, who took it. "I couldn't save the real Heather... I was a coward..." a single tear rolled down Wolfe's face. "But if you two survive... well, it's something. You take good care of those girls..."

"I will."

"Good man." he puffed on his cigarette. "Now go."

Timmy ran after Tootie, he didn't look back.

He pressed at the earpiece. "Anybody? Vicky? We need that pick up, Now!"

"I'm coming! It's not like I have experience driving this thing!" Timmy saw a small vertical take-off and landing vehicle screaming towards them. Behind, he could hear the creatures breaking into the house, some were chasing after him and Tootie as well. Vicky brought the vehicle to a hovering position just in front of them. "Get in!" Timmy and Tootie lunged forward into the vehicle with the creatures hot on their tails. Vicky took off, but not before one jumped and grabbed onto Timmy's leg, another jumped onto the canopy of the cockpit. It growled and scratched at the glass... until Vicky looked up at it. She met its eyes and glared right into them, causing it to shudder and jump off to its death. Timmy repeatedly kicked at the one grabbing his leg, but it wasn't about to give up.

Tootie grabbed the gun marked as 'Heather' out of his hands and released several shots into the creatures head, blowing it clean off. Timmy looked over at her with genuine surprise. "Nice!"

_Back at the house..._

The creatures slowly circled around Wolfe, expecting him to fight back after all the time they had chased him, and how much of their number had had killed, but he simply continued puffing on his cigarette. "Not gonna make the first move eh? Well... allow me." he grabbed the belt and yanked out the pin of the first grenade, just as the gas reached him and ignited from his cigarette. _"Heh... always knew these things would be the death of me..."_

The house exploded in a massive fireball, causing the VTOL to shake as it flew toward the carrier. Timmy sat at the edge of the vehicle, his legs dangling over the side. "Hmph... guess he won after all..."

_At the carrier, several minutes later..._

Vicky had returned to the main chamber, watching the city burn. She had returned to wearing her green tank-top and white shorts. Timmy walked up and embraced her from behind, she was surprised this time, and jumped as his arms wrapped around her. "Ooh... You're getting better at sneaking up on me..." she spun around in his embrace to face him. "Tootie?"

"She'll be fine, she might need some serious therapy after what she's been through, but I think she'll be okay."

"Thank goodness... she wasn't... bit? No scratches either?"

"No, surprisingly enough, those things were never able to lay a hand on her, she's tough, tougher than I think either of us thought..."

"Hm... casualty report?"

"Jenkins and Wolfe... Jenkins was caught off guard... Wolfe... he was pinned by a wardrobe, he wouldn't let us help him, chose to go out in a blaze of glory instead..."

"I see... guess I need to train some new best soldiers, eh?"

"Not it. I'm not going back down there."

"Well of course not! I'm not about to let you either! I thought you..."

"I know. But like I said, nothing was gonna stop me from coming back to you."

Vicky began to cry, and she didn't care who saw this time. "I shouldn't have... What if you... I'm sorry..."

"Hey." he moved his hand up and caressed her cheek. "I'm fine, we're all fine. You sent me down there because you trusted that I'd get the job done, yeah we lost people, but that's what happens, no one has the right to blame you for that, they could have abandoned the mission at any time, but they didn't, they knew the risks." He leaned in a kissed her on the lips. "Man, I've been missing that."

From across the room, one of the officers saw the kiss. "Aw... that's sweet..."

"Mary! Shut it! You wanna end up like Ted?!" her fellow officer slapped her arm.

"Vicky... about your parents..."

"...They're dead, aren't they?"

"Yeah, Tootie... she killed them, before those things could overwhelm them, kept them from suffering..."

"Hmph... I'd have left them to suffer..."

"You don't mean that..."

"You told me about what happened with your parents, so you know how bad things can get."

"...You're right, sorry."

"How is your head, by the way?"

"He lifted the hair away to show the scar. "I think I'll live."

She traced the scar with her fingers. "Even if he thought it was for the best... I don't think I can forgive him for what he did to you..."

"It's in the past, let it stay there."

"Fine." she pulled him closer and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Vicky... you sure you wanna act like this in front of them?" he gestured to the officers in the various chairs around the room.

"Much as I don't want to admit it..."

"Yeah?"

"I _need_ you, so they can stare at us all they want, I'll kill them later if I deem it necessary..."

"Might as well give them a show then."

"Huh?"

He held her with both arms and dipped her down into a passionate kiss, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other supporting her back. After several long seconds, he pulled her back up to stand in front of him, he wore a smug smile, she wore a scarlet blush. "That should be enough for now."

"R-right..." great, now she was embarrassed in front of her troops as well.

"So, I guess you two are getting along well, huh?" they were both surprised by Tootie's voice. She walked through the room toward where Timmy and Vicky stood, she had changed into a light purple sundress and had put her glasses back on, though she still wore Timmy's hat.

"Tootie! How are you feeling?"

"A little uncomfortable to be honest, I've become so used to surviving by the skin of my teeth that this... I'll get used to it." she had yet to look at Vicky.

"Um... Tootie?" Vicky stepped closer to her sister.

Tootie turned to look at Vicky, she had a look on her face that Vicky couldn't place.

"Tootie?"

Tootie responded by rushing into Vicky and wrapping her arms around her. The collision shocked Vicky, but not nearly as much as the fact that her sister was hugging her, after all she had done, her sister still loved her, it was more than she could have hoped for, and brought her tears back to the surface. "Damn it... I gotta stop crying like this, how can I hope to keep up my image at this rate?"

"I don't think it'll hurt to look weak now and then, if only to prove that you're still human..." Timmy put his hand on her shoulder.

"Timmy... Here." Tootie handed him his pink hat.

He took it and looked it over. "I think... you should keep it. It looks better on you now anyway."

Tootie took the hat back. "If... if you're sure..." she placed it back on her head, hiding her short haircut. "What... what will we do now? Our home is gone... and those things..."

"Oh! That reminds me! Ahem... Fire the death ray!"

"You mean the death beam ma'am?"

"Whatever! Just fire it!"

There was a sound of something powering up before a blinding flash lit up the ruined city below them, turning it into a glowing crater.

"Back to my earlier question... where are we gonna go now?"

Timmy walked up next to Vicky and grabbed her hand, linking his fingers with hers. "We go where we want, the world is within our grasp!" Vicky began laughing evilly at hearing this from Timmy, he tried to join in, but only ended up coughing and sputtering. "Yeah... I'll leave the evil laughing to you..."

Tootie came up and stood on the opposite side of him as Vicky, then grabbed his hand. "I guess I can give this whole 'evil' thing a try..."

"Hey! No one here is evil! We just..." both Vicky and Tootie looked at Timmy quizzically. "Alright fine, we're kinda evil. But I think we still have some redeemable qualities..."

"Then what are we, if not evil?"

"Uh... maybe... like... renegades... or something..." Both girls continued to stare at him like he had three heads. "So... where shall we head first?"

"Hm..." Vicky walked a few steps away and checked a terminal screen. "Oh! I hear Tibecuador is nice this time of year!"

Timmy grinned evilly, most unusual for him. "They'll never see us coming!"

"Yeah!" Tootie piped in.

"Lock our destination in as Tibecuador! All engines, full power!"

* * *

Author Note: Well, that's enough of that I think. I don't want this to go on for too long and degrade the quality, I may throw in a few chapters now and again, depending on what you guys want, maybe an alternate retelling, the story was gonna end a lot more tragically than it did, but I have a hard time killing characters I like. I actually started this with the idea to make it zombie apocalypse-ish, but I think I'll wait a while before I do something like that, the creatures are an amalgamation of things I've seen in video games, with some differences added in to make them mine. As always, review, PM, whatever, and tell me what you thought of it... Please?


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